Developers
There is an HGV levy charged for using our privately maintained roads and the associated extra wear and tear. This charge applies to developments whether fronting Welcomes and Uplands Roads OR their spur roads. The funds raised from the HGV levy are dedicated to improving our roads for everybody’s benefit including the buyers of new property fronting our roads and/or spur roads.
Before commencing work on the site developers must provide the Association, who are the road managers and street authority, with their contact details by emailing welcomesanduplandsroads@gmail.com. Before embarking on any work on the site, developers and their agents need to meet the Chairman and Secretary (Acting) to discuss the proposed development, site management, parking and traffic routing and to enter into a formal agreement with the Association. An example agreement can be viewed here .
The current tariff for developments can be viewed here. The Association reserves the right to alter the rates without notice or increase them if the projected HGV traffic is deemed to be excessive in the opinion of the Road Committee. It needs to be understood that Welcomes Road has no formal foundations or structure and as such is easily damaged by heavy lorries. In exceptional cases the Road Association would expect the users to make good the road at their expense.
Please note that due notice of the timing and date of any roadworks associated with your development MUST be advised to WURA (and not just the Council) so that we can inform members about possible road closures and give any other appropriate advice on traffic management. All H&S rules must be adhered to as if this was a standard council-owned road, including appropriate road closure signage at ALL access points to the road affected and safety barriers around the site itself.
Association Members
Members carrying out extensive landscape work or extending their property are expected to make an extra contribution to the road fund in an amount to be agreed with the Road Committee.
The main purpose of the Road Association is to maintain Welcomes and Uplands Roads. For this reason the Road Committee only becomes involved when a planning application is likely to have an adverse impact on the roads themselves. Please liaise with the KENDRA Planning Officer on planning applications or post your objection with reasons directly using the Planning Register on the Croydon Council web site. The Road Committee appreciate that there are a number of homes in the area that need updating but this should not mean that every square foot of the land they occupy should be built on leaving little parking space or other amenities. Every plan should include a large disabled parking space and somewhere for visitors to park – these are often glaring omissions and potentially would have an adverse impact on our roads.
The Council has been unsympathetic to pleas for more on site parking even when a site has a low PTAL (Parking Transport Accessibility Level) on the basis that cars are soon to be abandoned in preference for cycling and walking. This still has to be proved, so in the meantime, the Road Committee are keen to do their utmost to maintain the existing character and local distinctiveness of this ‘area of special interest’, as one Minister put it in the past.
The WURA Committee will object to planning applications it believes will have a detrimental effect on the road, the objections raised can be viewed in the Planning Application Archive. WURA has proposed to Croydon Council that the WURA estate be given special consideration under Green Grid status but this has not found favour and has not proven to be a mechanism for ending the over development. The paper produced by the WURA secretary is included on the applications archive page.
Do you need planning permission?
Just a quick reminder to members – do please check the need for planning permission before embarking upon any property alterations, extensions etc. There have been a few cases recently where retrospective planning permission has had to be applied for and this is not ideal for the applicant or neighbours who could be affected by the developments. There is also the question of the management of construction traffic and the need for an agreement with WURA to pay for the extra wear and tear from HGV traffic. Copies of revised standard agreements for contractors and developers can be viewed by clicking the first two links below (pdf documents):
- WURA Code of Practice for privately employed contractors
- Developers binding agreement with WURA
- Federation of Master Builders Code of Conduct
Obligation of Care of Road Frontage
The roads must not be obstructed in terms of the Highways Act and this includes members’ frontages where hedges must be regularly cut back. Verges must also be maintained properly and not be allowed to become impassable as they are part of the highway and a refuge for pedestrians. Verges must never be obstructed by parked vehicles either.
Although the Highways Act 1980 doesn’t specify any actual measurements for overhanging vegetation, the requirement should be met by:
- For pedestrian areas, minimum headroom of 2.3m (7ft 6 inches).
- For carriageway and an area immediately adjacent to it (for a distance of 0.45m (1ft 6 inches)) minimum headroom of 5.2m (17ft).
In both cases, all the vegetation should be cut back vertically. For further guidance, please see here. Additional links from the government with advice on hedging and how to complain about high hedges.
Please remember that Welcomes Road in particular is a footpath and perhaps more like a country lane rather than an urban thoroughfare. Drainage can be poor so please ensure that the roadway at the front of each house is kept clear.
